The present invention relates to a rotary cutter having a rotary blade with a cutting edge for cutting a material as the rotary blade rotates.
This type of rotary cutter is illustrated in Japanese examined utility model publication No.6-59. The rotary cutter has a protective member, which prevents exposure of the cutting edge of the rotary blade while the rotary cutter is not in use. The rotary cutter further includes a brake mechanism for applying rotational resistance to the blade. The brake mechanism has a shoe element that contacts the blade to exert frictional resistance on the blade. The shoe element is moveable toward or away from the blade. The degree of rotational resistance of the blade may be changed by rotating the brake mechanism clockwise or counterclockwise to move the shoe element away from or toward the blade. The rotary cutter also includes a lock mechanism for locking the protective member. The lock mechanism is operated with a knob, which is independent from the brake mechanism.
In the prior art rotary cutter, the brake mechanism and the lock mechanism are independently formed by separate parts and are independently operated to achieve their respective functions. Therefore, construction and operation of the rotary cutter is complicated due to the number of parts required.